Why is an archaeologist unable to use carbon 14 to accurately date the age of a skeleton that is millions of years old?

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2026-07-25 19:20

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An archaeologist cannot use carbon-14 to date a skeleton millions of years old because carbon-14 has a half-life of about 5,730 years, making it effective only for dating organic materials up to around 50,000 years old. Beyond this timeframe, the concentration of carbon-14 becomes too low to measure accurately, rendering the method ineffective for older specimens. Additionally, materials that are millions of years old may have undergone significant geological changes, further complicating dating efforts.

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